A new season starts with lots of excitement on the field but real concern off it
2025 Betfred Super League Grand Final
There’s an old proverb that states, “there’s nothing certain, but the uncertain.” It’s a phrase that should come with a Super League trademark and logo attached.
Uncertainty in sport, in most regards, is not a negative. In fact it is what it is all about. It’s why we make those weekly pilgrimages to our local cathedrals of sport. It’s why we invest our time, money, emotion and even devotion into following the fortunes of our teams, often spending a fortune to do so.
It’s the uncertainty of not knowing what will happen but the promise of what could be, which ensures supporters of all clubs will be greeting the start of the new rugby league season with such vigour. The abject disappointment following a series whitewash against Australia is far enough in the distance now to only leave feelings of excitement and hope for what the 30th iteration of Super League has in store.
For the first time since 2014 we’re back to a 14-team competition. Super League XIX as it was 12 years ago, saw us wave goodbye to the once mighty Bradford Bulls, who along with London Broncos paid the price of a league restructure which saw two teams relegated from the competition. Yet another league structure played out against a backdrop of in-fighting and divided priorities, has brought Bradford back to the top table and they’ve not come alone.
The road back has been an uneasy one for the Bulls, but back they are and they’re bringing York Knights and Toulouse with them, the latter back for a second shot at the top flight after their tough 2022 campaign.
How the trio cope having had weeks to put together Super League squads is arguably of the biggest concern in terms of the quality of the competition on show, with justifiable fears in many quarters of big blow out scores. In their defence, the promoted teams have undeniably done a sterling job with the time and money they have to put the best squads together possible, but there’s an inescapable fear that it still won’t be anywhere near enough.
How good enough a job they’ve actually done is uncertain (I’m sure you’re picking up the theme here), but with a fair wind and a touch of luck on the injury front, fear can give way to hope we see a competitive competition. It’s a season of so many uncertainties on the field and that is going to make for a fascinating spectacle, but once again it is the machinations of what happens behind the scenes and the uncertainty that brings which provide the biggest concern.
The Rugby Football League have had their own restructure that, like Bradford, has seen the sweeping return of Nigel Wood to the hotseat he’s occupied before. There’s a feeling of out with the old and in with the older at the RFL as clubs turn to what they know, but there’s no denying a governance change was needed.
We’re all friends here, let’s not beat around the bush. The RFL failed the game last year with its handling of the Salford Red Devils situation. Yes, those who ran Salford were to blame for the club’s financial crisis and litany of mistakes, but the governing body were too slow to act.
It’s a situation many, including our All Out Rugby League team, had been sending red flags up about for almost a year leading up to what transpired in 2025. The supporters of Salford deserved better, the game deserved better and as the people tasked with governing the game and protecting it for future generations, the RFL didn’t do a good enough job.
Now we have the issues surrounding Featherstone Rovers and Halifax Panthers. Who is next?
That responsibility of protecting and growing the sport is why without hyperbole, we stand at the beginning of the most important season for the Super League since its inception in 1996. Nigel Wood doesn’t have to drive a sea-change like the one Maurice Lindsay instigated 30 years ago, but the decisions taken on the running and broadcast of the sport will undoubtedly have ramifications for the next three decades such is the importance of what lies ahead.
One colleague of great knowledge and experience expressed a fear recently that Sky Sports may not even come to the table to discuss a new television deal. I disagree, but it only highlights the concern about what is out there for Super League and how much the broadcast rights are worth.
Speaking exclusively to All Out Rugby League in this publication, Nigel Wood says; “At the end of the day, broadcasting is, like every other market, constantly evolving and changing and that is why the sport entered into a long-term partnership with industry specialists IMG who I am sure will ensure that the sport gets the very best outcome that we all believe it deserves.”
There’s suggestions about the online space. Whether that be a streaming platform, more focus on YouTube, TikTok channels and trying to capture the next generation that way. Rugby league should be doing that, but an online strategy needs to be backed by the payday of a significant broadcast deal and therein lies the challenge.
Who has the money? Is there a suitable deal to even be done? Does the Super League need to become the NRL’s junior partner? Rugby league fans don’t need reminding of how good the sport is, but what use is having one of the best products if there’s nowhere accessible to the majority to showcase your wares! It’s a difficult path ahead to be navigated.
The decisions taken in the next few months by those at the top of the RFL and in charge of our clubs will shape the game not just for next year but the next decade and beyond. There’s uncertainty at what that future looks like, and not the type we like to encourage in sport.